Dec 11 Optimism is a strategy

Something the incredible Gary Vaynerchuk said recently really resonated with me. “Optimism is a strategy.” What do you prefer; going home, dwelling on the negative and feeling like a victim, or going out there are doing what you want, expecting the best?

IT’S TRUE. Sometimes I wonder if all the spirituality "woo woo” stuff I follow is made up. When that thought occurs to me, I always come to the same conclusion: it doesn’t matter. These beliefs are helping me do what I want to do, and be truly happy, so who cares!

Optimism and spirituality are a strategy. Taking a leap of faith is a strategy. Believing the Universe has my back is a strategy. These strategies have made me feel empowered, excited and free. They’ve allowed me to feel that everything will work out, even though I don’t know how.

Now you’re probably asking, well, will this strategy work? Let me be a guinea pig for that. We shall see. That’s what’s so exciting about being alive—the risk.

In ancient greek mythology, the gods were obsessed with the mortals and would follow what happened in the human world closely. They did this for entertainment, but also partly out of jealousy. Humans had the great privilege of living a mortal life that would end, which meant that what they did with their life mattered. They had the potential to fail or succeed, to reach their full potential and glory or squander their life. Because the gods were immortal, they didn’t. They lived with the knowledge that they’d live forever, and that what they did in their own lives didn’t have much gravity—it didn’t really matter.

So please, don’t squander your life. Don’t throw away those strange fantasies you have when you’re not watching yourself closely. Lean in to not knowing how it’s all going to work out, while trusting that it will if you follow your intuition. I’m right there with you.